Craven Brothers Limited
Craven Bothers Limited 1853 1972 Salford in Manchester England Introduction Craven Brothers Limited of Salford in Manchester and also Reddish at Stockport were a major developer and manufacturer of machinetools, mechanical machinery and later factory cranes and railway cranes. Company Beginnings Craven Brothers was a British engineering firm which started trading in 1853 by brothers Greenwood, William and John Craven. Together they started CRAVEN BROTHERS LIMITED and their company built large machine tools for railway and engineering workshops and later workshop and railway cranes iun two factories the main one at Salford in Manchester and a second one at Reddish in Stockport. Their first factory was known as the Vauxhall Works opened at Reddish in Stockport, Lancashire. In 1857, they moved to larger premises in Osborne Street. By 1900 they required larger premises and expanded into the new Vauxhall Works in Greg Street, Reddish. Difficult trading lead to the closure of the Osborne Street site in 1920. In 1928, Craven Brothers acquired the machine tool interests of Armstrong Whitworth, Joshua Buckton & Co and Thomas Shanks & Co. Development of lathes, shapers, drillers, garage cranes, then large railway steampowered breakdown cranes of all sizes and types. The crane division was sold to Herbert Morris of Loughborough in 1928, with the crane work being transferred to Loughborough in 1931. Production at this factory was solely for producing their railway cranes and other similar machinery. In 1939, the company purchased the Victoria Works in Saxon Street, Denton from Knight & Hale. The Machine tool division at Reddish remained in business until 1966. From the WIKIPEDIA English pages COMPANY HISTORY AND TIMELINE Craven Brothers (Manchester) of Salford and of Vauxhall Works, Reddish, Stockport. Established in 1853. Craven Brothers of Manchester were makers of machine tools and cranes (factory cranes and railway breakdown cranes). Craven Brothers was run by the three brothers Greenwood Craven, William Craven and John Craven. In 1839 the family moved to Manchester, and Thomas began to work for Sharp, Roberts and Co. Later he set up his own company selling and servicing machine tools. Greenwood Craven was educated at Bradford Grammar School. He worked for Sharp, Stewart and Co from 1840 until 1852 and then went to William Fairbairn and Sons, Canal Street, Manchester. William Craven worked for John George Bodmer, in Cambridge Street Mills, off Oxford Road, Manchester. Bodmer was an inventor, who had more than 150 patents in his name. 1852 William moved with his brother to William Fairbairn and Sons. John Craven, an accountant, started off in business with his father. He joined Craven Brothers a year after the company was founded. 1853 Craven Brothers was formed at Dawson Croft Mill, Salford. Initially the brothers made machine tools for locomotive manufacturers, but they later branched out into many other types of machine tools, particularly for armament manufacturers. Machine tools make metal and wood parts for other machines. They range in size from hand-held devices to objects that weigh hundreds of tonnes. Craven Brothers specialised in outsized and individually built machine tools, such as a 42-foot (13-metre) Craven Vertical Boring and Turning Mill, weighing about 600 tonnes. The company built up a huge export trade, with agents in India, Finland, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil and expanded so rapidly that it had to move several times. In 1863 they moved to Osborne Street in north Manchester. 1866 Patent. '2735. To Greenwood Craven, William Craven, and John Craven, of the Vauxhall Iron Works, in the city of Manchester, Engineers and Tool Makers, for the invention of "improvements in machinery for cutting and planing iron and other metals, particularly applicable to machinery for cutting and planing armour plates."' 1875 Began building powered travelling cranes 1876 Tyre rolling mill for Landore Siemens Steel Co 1885 Public company. 1894 Locomotive Frame-Plate Slotting Machine for the Vulcan Foundry Co of Newton-le-Willows. 1900 Further growth prompted the construction of the Vauxhall Works at Reddish, near Stockport. The company kept the Osborne Street works, with about 500 employees, open until 1920. 1902 Moved from Manchester to Vauxhall Works, Reddish. 1904 Plate from a 10-ton crane. Exhibit at Anson Engine Museum 1911 Grindley Automatic Turret Lathe. 1914 Manufacturers of high class modern machine tools, electric, steam, and hydraulic cranes etc. Employees 1,500. The need for greater facilities led to the establishment of works at Stockport which were gradually repeatedly enlarged until the entire business was transferred there in 1920. 1928 the machine tool businesses of Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Company, Joshua Buckton and Co and Thomas Shanks and Co were acquired and the staffs transferred to Reddish where the products of each of the four firms were manufactured. 1931 Transferred the Cranes Division to Herbert Morris, Empress Works, Loughborough. 1937 Machine tool manufacturers. 1939 Craven Brothers bought the Victoria Works at Denton from Knight and Hale. 1956 By this time Craven Brothers no longer used steam power and now employed Diesel running gear, during one of the company’s best periods, 250 people worked at Denton. 1961 Manufacturers of all types of heaviest class machine tools and smaller machine tools. 1,500 employees. 1961 Sold a factory with equipment at Denton, Lancashire to J. Brockhouse and Co; work was concentrated at the company's main factory at Reddish, Stockport. By the 1960s a new range of Diesel engined Craven Railway Cranes were developed and are produced mainly for British Rail company. 1965 Acquired by Staveley Coal and Iron Co but was losing money 1968 The foundry was shut as part of Staveley Industries's rationalisation of the foundries in its machine tool division 1968 Announce new plano-milling machine. 1970 Faced with continued losses in machine tools Staveley's Craven-Swift Division was closed 1972 Craven Brothers Limited company suffered several losses and was in the middle of fierce market competition with other larger similar companies like COLES CRANES, COWANS SHELDON and JONES CRANES so the firm was almost bankrupt and closed. From the GRACES GUIDES UK pages A 1890s Craven Brothers Steam Yardcrane.jpg|A 1890s Craven Brothers Steam Yardcrane A 1900s Craven Brothers 20 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1900s Craven Brothers 20 T Steam Railcrane A 1900s Craven Brothers 25 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1900s Craven Brothers 25 T Steam Railway Crane on a Museum display A 1900s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1900s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane A 1910s Craven Brothers 20 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1910s Craven Brothers 20 T Steam Railcrane A 1910s Craven Brothers 25 T Sream Railway Crane.jpg|A 1910s Craven Brothers 25 T Steam Railcrane A 1910s Craven Brothers 35 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1910s Craven Brothers 25 T Steam Railcrane on a Steam Museum display A 1910s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1910s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railway Crane A 1910s Craven Brothers 60 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1910s Craven Brothers 60 T Steam Railway Crane A 1920s Craven Brothers Steam Piledriver.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers Steamdriven Piledriver A 1920s Craven Brothers 25 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 20 T Steam Railcrane A 1920s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane in Australia.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane in Australia A 1920s Craven Brothers 35 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 35 T Steam Railway Crane A 1920s Craven Brothers 36 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 36 T Steam Railcrane A 1920s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane in Manchester.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane in Manchester A 1920s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1920s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railway Crane A 1930s Craven Brothers Electric Overhead Crane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers Electric Overhead Crane A 1930s Craven Brothers Railway Shunting Crane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers Railway Shunting Crane A 1930s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers 30 T Steam Railway Crane A 1930s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane A 1930s Craven Brothers 45 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers 45 T Steam Railway Crane A 1930s Craven Brothers 50 T Steam Railcrane.png|A 1930s Craven Brothers 50 T Steam Railcrane A 1930s Craven Brothers 70 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1930s Craven Brothers 70 T Steam Railway Crane A 1940s Craven Brothers Overhead Steampowered crane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers Overhead Steamcrane working in a Doncaster Railway Workshop A 1940s Craven Brothers 15 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 15 T Steam Railcrane A 1940s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railway Crane A 1940s Craven Brothers 45T Steam, Railcrane at the factory yard.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 45 T Steam Railcrane at a BR trainyard A 1940s Craven Brothers 50 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 50 T Steam Railway Crane A 1940s Craven Brothers 60 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 60 T Steam Railcrane A 1940s Craven Brothers 70 T Steam Railcrane.jpg|A 1940s Craven Brothers 70 T Steam Railway Crane A 1950s Craven Brothers 40 T Railway Crane Diesel.jpg|A 1950s Craven Brothers 40 T Steam Railcrane in Australia A 1950s Craven Brothers 50 T Railway Crane Diesel.jpg|A 1950s Craven Brothers 50 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1950s Craven Brothers 70 T Railcrane Diesel.jpg|A 1950s Craven Brothers 70 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1960s Craven Brothers 30 T Railway Crane Diesel.jpg|A 1960s Craven Brothers 40 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1960s Craven Brothers 50 T Railcrane Diesel in England.png|A 1960s Craven Brothers 50 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1960s Craven Brothers 60 T Diesel Railcrane.jpg|A 1960s Craven Brothers 60 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1960s Craven Brothers 70 T Railway Crane Diesel.jpg|A 1960s Craven Brothers 70 T Railway Service Diesel Crane A 1960s Craven Brothers Electric Cranes catalogue.jpg|A 1960s Craven Brothers Diesel Electric Railcranes Catalogue A 1960s Craven Brothers Electric Overhead Cranes and machines.jpg|A 1970s Craven Brothers Cranes and Machinery Catalogue A 1960s Original Craven Brothers Limited Catalogue.jpg|A 1970s Craven Brothers Original Machinery Catalogue A 1930s Craven Brothers Nameplate on a steamcrane.jpg|A Craven Brothers Limited original nameplate on a steamcrane The Craven Brothers Limited Drawing Office in 1999.jpg|The former Craven Brothers Drawing /Modelling Offices at Salford in 1999 The Craven Brothers Original Emblem.jpg|The Craven Brothers original nameplate on a steamcrane The Craven Brothers emblem on a Steamcrane.jpg|An Original Craven Brothers Emblem on a early railcrane The Craven Brothers Ltd Original Logo.jpg|The Original Craven Brothers Emblem found on their cranes Category:Companies of the United Kingdom